379 days until the Arkon Shield falls

High Shaman, I am pleased to report we have discovered another dungeon in the quadrant. It is only a rank one dungeon, but as you know, every virgin dungeon is priceless. What with the other matters going on in the quadrant, I don’t have enough men to fortify it just yet, but I assure you, it will be secured soon. —Chief Zel Foghorn.

In the end, Jolin recalled the head crafters into the meeting. We would need their help to erect the fort, especially Soren’s people, the masons and carpenters.

According to Marcus, there was a limit to how far away the fort could be built and the number of forts a settlement could have. Until Sierra expanded to a town, it would only be allowed the single one. We all agreed that the fort should be as close as feasible to the red dungeon. Under normal circumstances, it would take a day to make the trip from Sierra to the dungeon, making it an ideal location. The logging camps were no issue either. At the moment, they functioned only as temporary day-camps and could be relocated with ease.

Once the fort’s location was finalized and the discussion moved on to planning the expedition itself, I backed away from the table. The day waned quickly, and there were other things I still needed to do about the village.

At my movement, the commander glanced up from the map she was carving into the table—it was growing more intricate by the minute. “Come see me tomorrow,” she said.

I threw her a salute and ducked out of the room, saying my farewell to the others on the way out.

The rest of the building was a hive of activity. Slowing my steps, I took it all in. Carpenters were everywhere, hard at work hammering at planks and cutting boards to size. At the rate they were proceeding, the building’s insides would soon be completed.

I smiled. Sierra was truly a village now, and shortly all signs of the refugee camp it had once been would vanish altogether. I stepped out of the building and into the dirt street and glanced upwards. It was late afternoon. Time enough, I thought and set off in the direction of the dragon temple.

✽✽✽

The temple was still unmissable and about the only thing in the settlement that remained unchanged.

Squatting like a benevolent god over its followers, the building’s bright purple marble walls and rooftop rose high above the surrounding log cabins, making it visible from any point in the village. With such a landmark to navigate by, I had no trouble finding my way.

The area immediately outside the temple entrance had not been built upon. The space was bordered on one side by the temple itself and on the three other sides by open-front wooden buildings.

A market square.

The square itself was not empty. Mobile wooden stalls crowded the area. Some were brightly colored, elaborate, and piled high with goods; others were bare bones and functional.

At every stall, I spied merchants—crafters rather—hawking their wares to the crowds of slow-moving people moving between them. I took a second longer look at the open-front buildings on the edges of the square and realized they, too, were shops.

So, I thought, bemused, Sierra has developed an economy. I wonder what they use for coin.

I hobbled through the square, my gaze fixed on the dragon temple. It was as busy as the market, and a steady stream of people walked up and down its paved marble steps. I joined them, ignoring the whispered comments and attempts at conversation by those who recognized me by my gait.

Eventually, it was my turn. Climbing up the remaining stairs, I pushed open the doors and entered the temple. A Trials message unfurled the moment I crossed the threshold.

You have exited Sierra.

I blinked, letting my eyes refocus after the sudden transformation of my surroundings. I was back on Wyrm Island, in the isle’s center.

Nothing had changed from my last visit. In front of me was the exit gate, and to its left was the messaging system, two leather-bound books on a stone table.

“Welcome back, human.”

I turned around. Aurora was hovering silently behind me. I bowed to the purple woman. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, noble guide.”

“Hmpf,” she replied, turning her nose up in the air. “Empty platitudes. What do you want?”

I grinned. Aurora hadn’t changed either. She was as acerbic as ever. “The usual,” I replied.

The fluttering of the purple woman’s wings slowed, and she alighted on the ground. “Well? What are you waiting for? Get on with it then.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. I was well used to her attitude now and unbothered by her impatience. Refusing to be rushed, I rubbed at my chin while I thought. “How many attribute and skill points do I have again?” At some point, I’d lost track of my leveling gains.

“You have four hundred and twenty-three Tokens and seventy-four Marks,” Aurora replied primly.

I whistled in appreciation. That is a helluva lot. Or so it appeared at first glance. But despite my seeming riches, I knew I would have to be careful in how I spent my Marks and Tokens. There were many skills and attributes I wanted to increase, and I didn’t think I had enough points for all of them. Turning my focus inwards, I considered my existing knowledge.

You are a player of rank, Trainee, and level 55.

In the school of Magic, you have four rank 2 Disciplines: air, dragon, earth, and life magic; and three rank 1 Disciplines: death, fire, and water magic.

In the school of Might, you have two rank 2 Disciplines: light armor and staffs; five rank 1 Disciplines: anatomy, clubs, shields, spears, and shortbows; and two rank 0 Disciplines: sneaking and unarmed combat.

In the school of Craft, you have one rank 2 Discipline: lore; one rank 1 Discipline: blacksmithing, and one rank 0 Discipline: scribe.

Step one would be to advance my rank two Disciplines even further. They had all served me well thus far.

I turned back to my guide. “Please increase my skill in the Disciplines of air magic, dragon magic, earth magic, life magic, light armor, staffs, and lore to fifty-five.”

“Noted. You have two hundred and two Tokens remaining.”

I winced. That easily, I’d wiped out more than half of my Tokens. Still, it had been necessary. With my core Disciplines seen to, I considered the other areas I needed to grow in.

Two of my three rank one magic Disciplines had proved their worth in the dungeon, and after a moment’s thought, I trained them too. “Aurora, advance my skill in death and water magic to fifty-five as well.”

“Done. You have one hundred and twelve Tokens remaining.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, pondering my remaining Disciplines. There was no point training my fire magic Discipline further—dragon magic was an able enough substitute—and with a staff still my weapon of choice, there was no need to advance my other melee martial Disciplines either.

That only leaves anatomy, blacksmithing, shortbows, and sneaking to consider.

Investing in shortbows and sneaking would be less than optimal. There were spells in the air magic Discipline that could help me remain hidden—making sneaking, if not redundant, then less than useful—and once I learned more projectile spells, my skill with a shortbow would also be superfluous.

Blacksmithing, too, I felt was an unnecessary skill. As long as I remained in Sierra and had access to Melissa, Anton, and the other crafters, there was no need for me to attempt forging my own weapons.

Which brings me to anatomy.

Anatomy was a combat Discipline and not a skill I’d originally thought necessary for a mage. The Discipline advanced a player’s knowledge of his foes, revealing their vulnerabilities during battle. Regna had used it to great effect against the sea serpents. With his high anatomy skill, the dwarven fighter had known when and where to strike to inflict the most damage.

The Discipline can serve me just as well.

“Lastly, Aurora, train my skill in anatomy to fifty-five.”

“As you wish,” the purple woman replied. “You have sixty-seven Tokens remaining.”

I nodded absently. I was satisfied with my choices thus far. However, I still had enough Tokens to maximize another Discipline, and there was one other area in particular in which I wanted to advance my knowledge: enchanting. Yet something was confusing me about the skill.

I’d found no mention of the enchanting Discipline in the wiki, nor had I seen it on the list of available Disciplines when I’d first visited Wyrm Island. “Aurora,” I began hesitantly, “are there skills not on the list of Disciplines you showed me before?”

“Of course,” the purple woman replied. “There are many hidden Disciplines in the Trials. If you recall, your own dragon magic skill is one of them. These Disciplines cannot be unlocked within a temple but must be acquired by other means first.”

“I see,” I muttered. “Then can you at least tell me which Attributes influence the enchanting skill?” If I had to guess, I’d say it was either the Magic or Crafting ones. Knowing which would help me decide how to spend my Marks.

Aurora rolled her eyes. “Enchanting is not a Discipline; it’s a Technique.”

“Really?” I murmured. Her answer only puzzled me further. If enchanting really was an ability, then it was likely governed by one—or more—of the magic Disciplines, if not another skill entirely.

I sighed. Either way, it meant I couldn’t depend on Trials-gifted knowledge to figure out how to go about enchanting. I would have to learn the process myself before turning to the temple for help with deepening my understanding of the subject. With all this in mind, I decided to hold off on spending my remaining Tokens.

Turning my attention to my Attributes, I reached into the core within me and called up the status of my Potentials.

16% of extraordinary Magic Potential actualized.

27% of mediocre Might Potential actualized.

18% of exceptional Resilience Potential actualized.

13% of gifted Craft Potential actualized.

When it came to my Attributes, my choices were much simpler—primarily because I didn’t have as many Marks to spend—and I didn’t have to think long before making them. “Please maximize my spellpower and channeling, and invest whatever Marks remain into constitution.”

“So noted,” Aurora said. “You have no more Marks remaining.”

I smiled sourly, disgusted anew by how few Marks I had. I really needed to find a Trait that would increase my Attribute points. Still, until then, I was forced to prioritize my spending, maximizing my Magic first and my Resilience only thereafter.

“Are we done here?” Aurora asked, interrupting my musings.

I glanced at her. “Sure. You can—” I broke off, struck by another thought. “Actually, there is something else I wanted to ask you.”

The purple woman folded her arms across her chest and stared down her nose at me. “Well, spit it out.”

I hesitated, uncertain how to phrase my query. Aurora was touchy and wont to take offense at even the smallest of things, and I didn’t want to incur her anger any more than necessary. Still, I was curious about what I’d seen in the destroyed hamlet and wanted to hear what she thought. “I entered another dragon temple,” I said at last.

Aurora snorted. “No, you haven’t. If you had, I’d have been summoned there too.”

“A dead temple,” I clarified.

The purple woman’s expression turned severe, and her habitual frown returned.

It was not the most encouraging sign, but I forged on. “I saw a mural of an Elder on one of its walls. A dragon in flight over a mountaintop.”

Aurora stilled. Her gaze unfocused and she stared unseeing past me into the distance. For long moments she said nothing. I remained silent, observing her curious reaction avidly.

“Ashara,” the purple woman breathed finally. She spoke the word so softly I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.

I leaned forward. “What was that?”

Aurora’s gaze snapped back into focus, and she glared at me. Fluttering her wings, she rose into the air. “You shouldn’t have gone in,” she declared.

I opened my mouth to object, but she spoke over me, her tone frosty. “The temples are sacred and not to be disturbed. Do you understand?”

I bit back my instinctive protest. Given Aurora’s affronted demeanor, there seemed little chance of me getting any further information out of her. I sighed. “I do,” I said, seeing no need to antagonize her further.

“Good. Now is that all?”

I nodded.

“Until next time, human.” On the tail end of her words, Aurora vanished.

I shook my head at the purple woman’s abrupt farewell. Somehow, I’d still managed to offend her. Still, our exchange, short as it had been, hadn’t been without benefit. I knew now that whatever Aurora was, she was familiar with the Elders enough to identify one by name.

And if she knows that much, she must know more.

“Ashara,” I murmured. A single name was not much to go on, but it was a start, and it put me one step closer to piercing the shroud of mystery surrounding the beings who’d created the Trials. Given time and patience, I was sure I could learn yet more from Aurora.

Dismissing further speculation of the Elders from my thoughts, I turned towards the messaging system’s stone table. Hobbling up to it, I eagerly opened the white book, the one bearing the title, ‘Incoming.’

Disappointingly, it was empty.

Eric hadn’t replied to my message yet. Why hasn’t he responded? I bit my lip. A week had passed since I’d written to him. Surely, he would have had occasion to visit a dragon temple by now?

Has something happened? Are Eric and Emma all right?

I curtailed my worry. Of course, they’re okay. I had no reason to think otherwise. Eric was smart and more than capable of taking care of himself and Emma. They’re fine, I assured myself.

Banishing my niggling doubts, I stepped towards the Wyrm Island exit portal, then paused as something else occurred to me.

The information Marcus had supplied on the settlement core had been enlightening and made me even more curious about the other cores in my possession. While Marcus nor I knew what purpose they served, it occurred to me that Eric might.

Given his location in a gnomish city, my friend had access to resources I didn’t, and I could trust him to be discreet with his inquiries. Turning back to the messaging system, I opened the black book and penned a short note.

Message 2 to Eric Anders: Hey mate. I hope you and Emma are doing all right—and if you are, reply to me, damnit!

As for myself, I’m surviving. This world is strange and wild, and danger lurks around every corner. Yet it holds much potential too. Day by day, I grow stronger. Soon, I promise, I will come looking for you.

In the meantime, I need your help with something. If the opportunity presents itself, learn what you can about champion cores. But please, don’t put yourself or Emma at risk doing so!

I paused, pen hovering over the page as I deliberated over how much detail to add. The less said, the safer Eric will be, I decided. Bending over the book again, I finished my message.

I’ve had the good fortune to find one of these things, but the Trials has been maddeningly vague about their purpose. For the life of me, I can’t figure it out, but I have a feeling they’re important. Perhaps, you will have better luck than me understanding them.

Take care, Eric. Your friend, Jamie.

I closed the book and rested my hand on it for a moment, my thoughts still on my lost friends. “Stay safe, my friend,” I whispered. Turning around, I limped towards the exit.

You have exited Wyrm Island. Modification request detected. Initiating update procedure.

Changes analyzed…

Alterations verified…

Updates approved...

Downloading new knowledge…

…

…

Download complete. Transfer to Overworld resumed.